March 12 - Robert Lowry (The Musical Birthday Series, 8th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for March 12th may be found here: Thomas Augustine Arne (2019),  Gordon MacRae (2020), Liza Minnelli (2021), Thomas Augustine Arne; Paul Weston (2023), Thomas Augustine Arne (2023), Alexandre Guilmant (2024), and Thomas Augustine Arne (2025)

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Robert Lowry (March 12, 1826 – November 25, 1899) was an American preacher who became a popular writer of gospel music in the mid-to-late 19th century.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shall We?

I do not know if Richard Lowry

Had a daughter with a dowry,

But "Shall We Gather at the River"

Would have earned some cash to give her.

 

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Hymn Time

When hymn composer Robert Lowry

Penned "I Need Thee Every Hour," he

Clearly felt the text sincerely,

And believed that Life, if lived severely,

Freed one from the World (or nearly).

And writing music as a Baptist,

It followed that his texts were aptest,

When sentiments were at their raptest,

So shunning liturgies and creeds, he

Wrote "All the Way My Savior Leads Me."

 

 

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March 11 - Lawrence Welk; William Vincent Wallace (The Musical Birthday Series, 8th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for March 11th may be found here:  Carl Ruggles (2019), Lawrence Welk (2020), Henry Cowell; Astor Piazzolla (2021), Lawrence Welk; Bobby McFerrin (2022), Lawrence Welk; Mercer Ellington (2023), Lawrence Welk (2024), and Graham Lyle (2025)

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Lawrence Welk (11 March 1903 – 17 May 1992) was an American bandleader and accordionist who had a successful television career. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safe

A nineteen-sixties Sunday rite

Was Lawrence Welk on Sunday night;

And though each costume and each set

Was blandly corny, don't forget

That Grandma knew it was foreseeable

That nothing would be disagreeable.

 

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William Vincent Wallace (11 March 1812 – 12 October 1865) was an Irish composer and pianist active on three continents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just Sayin'

Wallace was a brilliant musician, but even his famous Maritana is now performed only by amateurs. — "Australian Dictionary of Biography" at adb.anu.edu.au/biography

Even if an opera by William Vincent Wallace

Is given a production that the critics say is flawless, —

You don't need to call us.

 

 

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March 10 - Bad Bunny; Peter DeRose (The Musical Birthday Series, 8th Annual Cycle)

For previous March 10th posts, check here: John Bacchus Dykes (2019), Arthur Honegger (2020), Camillo Schumann (2021), Lorenzo da Ponte; Pablo de Sarasate (2022), Bix Beiderbecke; Dudley Buck (2023), Lorenzo da Ponte (2024), and John Bacchus Dykes (2025)

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Bad Bunny (b. 10 March 1994) is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, record producer, and occasional professional wrestler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Lovely Island

Bad Bunny, a cultural beacon,

Is a passionate proud Puerto Rican;

He decided to go

To his Superbowl show

And sing in the language they speak in.

 

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No hablo español

Bad Bunny, on Superbowl night,

Gave a fright to America's Right;

Fox News called it clannish

To be rapping in Spanish,

And complained that the man wasn't White.

 

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Peter DeRose (10 March 1896 – 23 April 1953) was an American composer of jazz and pop music best known for "Deep Purple" and "A Marshmallow World."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parrish the Thought

"Deep Purple," as written by Peter ReRose,

   Was conceived for the piano, with words added later,

And that is the version that everyone knows,

   And the reason we're cheering DeRose its creator.

 

 

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March 9 - Samuel Barber; Phoebe Knapp (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for March 9 are found here:  Martin Shaw (2019), Samuel Barber (2020), Ornette Coleman; Samuel Barber (2021), Samuel Barber; Josef Mysliveček (2023), Samuel Barber (2024), and Samuel Barber (2025)

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Samuel Barber (9 March 1910 – 23 January 1981) was an important American composer in all the major classical genres.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never Say Can't

However, Briselli was disappointed when he received the third movement from Barber; according to Barber, his reasons were that "1st, he could not safely learn it for January; 2nd, it was not violinistic; 3rd, it did not suit musically the other two movements, it seemed to him rather inconsequential." -- Wikipedia, s.v. "Violin Concerto (Barber)"

When Briselli declared the concerto unplayable,

And Barber said words then considered unsayable,

The concerto was played by another performer

Whose reaction was friendlier, braver, and warmer.

And then the concerto that Briselli had slandered

Was quickly endorsed as a repertoire standard.

 

 

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Phoebe Knapp (9 March 1839 –10  July 1908) was an American composer of music for hymns and an organist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Is Her Story

 

She composed the music for over five hundred hymn.  -- Wikipedia 

The hymns of Phoebe (Palmer) Knapp,

   Though "Blessed Assurance" was one of them,

Have largely fallen off the map,

   In spite of her writing a ton of them.

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.]